Schools, state budget and safety hot topics at forum

How can the state fix its budget crisis and other problems? Will a new high school in Alpine be big enough to meet demand? Could the names of convicted arsonists be accessible to the public?

Local and state elected officials faced these and other questions Wednesday night at the Alpine Mountain Empire Chamber of Commerce's 11th annual “An Evening With Your Elected Representatives” at Viejas Casino. In all, 120 people attended the event, including state Assemblyman Joel Anderson, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and Alpine Union School District board member Mark Price.

Asked what could be done to reform Sacramento, Anderson had some strong words about his colleagues, suggesting many legislators work very hard while some are “retired in place.” He described a divide between those who he said believe the private sector should be strengthened and those who believe the public sector is “the economic engine.” He also said he thought environmental and economic priorities should be better balanced.

“A lot of this is policy-driven, and a lot of it is (because) some of the districts have to focus more on who they're electing,” said Anderson, R-La Mesa.

After the event, Anderson again declined to comment on an unusual pattern of financial transactions involving his campaign accounts that are under investigation by the state's political watchdog, the Fair Political Practices Commission.

When the topic of a new high school in Alpine came up, Price said he had major concerns. Among them: whether the Grossmont Union High School District's plans to initially accommodate 800 students are adequate for a campus that ultimately will have a capacity of 2,000.

“Anything you can do to involve yourself and get active in trying to get Grossmont to go beyond the 800 number” would help, Price said.

A resident from the backcountry community of Boulevard said she was concerned about an arsonist in her area suspected of starting several fires. She asked if it would be possible to make names of registered arsonists public.

Anderson deferred to Dumanis, who said she would want to investigate the topic further, but that she supported the concept.

“I think as much information as we can make public the better,” Dumanis said. “We need to know who's in our communities, especially in small communities like Boulevard.”